Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada

When we talk to leaders about Emerging Spirit, much of what we hear reflects a clear awareness that the church needs to change if it hopes to become more relevant to people between the ages of 30 and 45. Yet people are also very conscious of the risk of selling short the gospel in the attempt to reach new ears.

How can leaders communicate the good news of justice, truth, love, and transformation to an audience that has largely been raised in a postmodern context that has worked to deconstruct these concepts? Can the gospel be presented in an effective way to 30-45 year olds living in a post-Christian, postmodern nation like Canada without watering it down or catering solely to consumeristic expectations? Indeed, what does the gospel have to say that is relevant to the lives of those in this audience?

Below is a small gathering of recent blogs and articles from the web about the experiences of church visitors and the work to help the church become more welcoming.

While the some of the opinions expressed aren't necessarily nice (warning!), and some are perhaps not even completley fair, they are valuable first-hand reports on the experiences of those who walk through church doors for the first time.

Church from a Visitor's Perspective

David Zimmerman is writing a nine-part series on Church Marketing Sucks about the experience of attending church from a visitor's perspective.

This article (free log-in required) in The New York Times shows how new waves of immigration to the southern United States are provoking churches long resistant to change to welcome newcomers - because their Bibles tell them so.

"The Clarkston International Bible Church, which sits along an active freight rail line down the road from the former Ku Klux Klan bastion of Stone Mountain, is now home to parishioners from more than 15 countries. The church's Sunday potluck lunch features African stews and Asian vegetable dishes alongside hot dogs, sweet tea and homemade cherry pie...